<p>I wouldn’t worry overly much about computerized college matching as it is mostly statistics driven. Your Mexican-American heritage will give you a boost at colleges that do not attract a lot of high achieving non-Whites. Colleges in the midwest – like Kenyon (excellent writing program, by the way) and Grinnell – or in rural locations like Colby, Skidmore, Hamilton would be good choices.</p>
<p>I would encourage to look at some of the women’s colleges. Smith and Mt. Holyoke have a reputation for interest in young women with compelling life stories.</p>
<p>At any rate, you need a balanced list of reach/match/safety. Once you get your scores you’ll have a better idea where they fall.</p>
<p>CofC would be my choice in SC for English. I’m a big fan of Clemson, but its strengths are in the sciences, engineering and business areas. None of the in-state publics are particularly generous with FinAid. However, you qualify for the Life scholarship. And, if you can raise your ACT to 32, you would qualify for the Palmetto Fellows scholarship. </p>
<p>Although located in-state (warm climate), I would definitely look at Wofford. </p>
<p>I also highly recommend you check out Sewanee: The University of the South. They have a great English department, and the climate is much cooler than SC. More importantly, they have good FinAid and merit aid, and they do not require the non-custodial parent to submit financial information. They use the FAFSA and their own form (which is really simple) to determine need. </p>
<p>Also, just a suggestion, but you may want to avoid AP Bio. Out of curiosity, why are you taking both AP Lit and AP Lang in the same year?</p>
<p>If I understand correctly, your Dad is out of the picture, and your mom and stepdad are in the process of getting divorced. I’m guessing, under SC’s archaic divorce laws, that means they are in the one year “separate and living apart” period before they can file? If the divorce is final before you apply for FinAid, you can exclude your stepdad’s income. If not, because SC doesn’t have a formal “legal separation”, you may have to jump through a few hoops to get your stepdad’s income excluded from consideration. </p>
<p>@Overtheedge Palmetto Fellows is actually a 27 on the ACT and as of right now I already have the life scholarship I think. And I didn’t like Wofford I’ll definitely check out Sewanee though. And I get my schedule today and I’m hoping AP Biology falls where I can easily drop it. Fingers crossed. Also I’m taking both because writing and literature/English has always been my strength in school so I know I can boost my grades a bit with it. Also mainly because I feel like English subject AP exams might be a bit easier to pass (just IMO) because if you’re a strong writer the FRQs should be easier to tackle and I’ve heard the MC is pretty easy and straightforward. I basically like writing and reading. I didn’t want to take Dual Enrollment because I didn’t have $1-2K to spend back then. Also the class is full of the kids who distract me so I’m better off with both AP’s. At least until I realized a couple of my colleges give the same credit for both of them. I learned my strength was essays when I took APUSH and it saved my grade numerous times. I think I should also point out I’m not terrible at science, I just don’t like it. But when I took honors bio I loved the teacher and the class but didn’t do that well in it. I had a B. But honestly that was before I developed study skills so I feel like I could handle AP I’m just hoping I don’t have to. </p>
<p>@SomethingWithin - My D didn’t like Wofford either for some reason (although I urged her to consider it). Palmetto Fellows is 27 ACT if you meet the grade AND ranking requirements. Were you ranked top 6% at the end of sophomore or junior year? If not, you can still qualify with a 32 ACT. Yes, you are already qualified for LIFE. </p>
<p>I have a personal bias against AP Bio ;).
My D, who will be majoring in English, thought AP Lit & Lang were a breeze, and liked and did very well in Honors Bio. She struggled with AP Bio. Of course, that has absolutely no bearing on how you will do in AP Bio! If you enjoy the subject and think you’ll do well, go for it. My D had not yet finalized her list of colleges when school started. I think she underestimated the time involved with the college application process, coupled with multiple APs and ECs. </p>
<p>@Overtheedge Saw my schedule! It’s AP Lit, Lang, Biology (But there is an AP Stats class offered during that time so I should be able to switch in ), Teacher Cadet, and Human Geography. But human geography is at a place where I either get two study halls everyday or I can go home and come back (which I’ll probably do since it’s a 10 minute walk and 2 minutes drive I’m still not sure if I’ll be driving this year or not). </p>
<p>@somethingwithin I don’t know if you are still looking at this thread, but I wanted to give you a piece of advice. You said that your goal would be to work for the New York Times or something similar. That means you are interested in journalism. Do definitely do not have to major in journalism or even go to grad school. But the number-one most important thing is to choose a college that has an excellent DAILY newspaper. The first day you arrive on campus, join the newspaper. Work on the newspaper all four years. Major in anything you want – dance, biology, art history. As long as you dedicate yourself to working on the newspaper and have many clips (articles with your byline) by the time you graduate, you will be able to get a job in journalism. To find out which colleges have excellent daily newspapers, check here:
<a href=“SPORTS -”>http://journalismdegree.org/exemplary-college-newspapers/</a></p>
<p>Not that the University of South Carolina is listed as #3! Out of 100!</p>
<p>You’re welcome. Glad you saw my reply. On my last sentence, it was supposed to say “notice,” instead of “not.” But you get the idea. Just get on that newspaper and start collecting your clips! Make a website for yourself to show off your clips. Research websites of journalists to see what the various formats are.</p>
I’ll definitely check out Sewanee though. And I get my schedule today and I’m hoping AP Biology falls where I can easily drop it. Fingers crossed. Also I’m taking both because writing and literature/English has always been my strength in school so I know I can boost my grades a bit with it. Also mainly because I feel like English subject AP exams might be a bit easier to pass (just IMO) because if you’re a strong writer the FRQs should be easier to tackle and I’ve heard the MC is pretty easy and straightforward. I basically like writing and reading. I didn’t want to take Dual Enrollment because I didn’t have $1-2K to spend back then. Also the class is full of the kids who distract me so I’m better off with both AP’s. At least until I realized a couple of my colleges give the same credit for both of them. I learned my strength was essays when I took APUSH and it saved my grade numerous times. I think I should also point out I’m not terrible at science, I just don’t like it. But when I took honors bio I loved the teacher and the class but didn’t do that well in it. I had a B. But honestly that was before I developed study skills so I feel like I could handle AP I’m just hoping I don’t have to. </p>
), Teacher Cadet, and Human Geography. But human geography is at a place where I either get two study halls everyday or I can go home and come back (which I’ll probably do since it’s a 10 minute walk and 2 minutes drive I’m still not sure if I’ll be driving this year or not). </p>